1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a body-worn vest. More particularly, it relates to a body-worn vest capable of affecting a change in the body temperature of the user wearing the vest.
2. Description of Prior Art
Body-worn vests are well known in the prior art and can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, a simple cloth vest is used under the sport jacket of a three-piece suit for aesthetic reasons. Baseball umpires wear vests underneath their shirts to prevent injury from the impact of a high-speed thrown baseball. Law officers wear bullet proof vests to prevent injury or death from a bullet striking the officer's torso. Vest-like structures are also used in scuba-diving (buoyancy compensator) and sky-diving (parachute harness). All of the above mentioned body-worn vests provide a certain function for the user wearing the vest.
Also seen in the prior art are vests used to affect change in the temperature of a body torso. Such can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,067 to Buonassissi. The device shown therein includes a pair of front panels (left and right) integrally attached to a back panel, inside pockets extending over inner surfaces of the back panel and inner surfaces of the left and right front panels for receiving hot or cool packs and a plurality of fasteners for fitting the vest upon the user. Although this prior art device can be used to affect change in temperature of a body torso, it has many deficiencies which warrant improvement thereupon. In particular, the vest uses inside pockets for receiving the cool or hot packs. In the case of cool packs, condensation quickly forms as the cool packs begin to melt. This condensation is then felt by the user against his or her body. This results in an uncomfortable wet feeling. There is no means provided in this prior art device for prohibiting the condensation from flowing from the cool packs to the user's body. Further, the inside pockets are disposed in a non-uniform arrangement. For example, two pockets are disposed in the lower portions of the left and right front panels, thereby leaving a great portion of the upper front torso of the user unaffected by the temperature change. As shown in FIG. 2 of the prior art device, four corner pockets are disposed leaving a large column-like portion unaffected along the back side of the user's torso.
The prior art device also relies on a single piece of material to form the back and pair of front panels. Accordingly, the device must be manufactured in various sizes to provide a vest which can fit a variety of different sized users. This results in waste.
An improved vest is needed which can affect a change in temperature of a body torso yet overcome the deficiencies seen in the prior art. In particular, an improved vest should provide for more uniform placement of the cool and hot packs. Such improved vest should also provide a means for adjusting the size of the vest providing a "one size fits all" garment. Further, the improved vest should prohibit any condensation from flowing from the packs to the body of the user wearing the vest.